| 1. |
- Caruso, Alexandro, et al.
(författare)
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Positive edge effects on forest-interior cryptogams in clear-cuts
- 2011
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:11, s. e27936-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Biological edge effects are often assessed in high quality focal habitats that are negatively influenced by human-modified low quality matrix habitats. A deeper understanding of the possibilities for positive edge effects in matrix habitats bordering focal habitats (e.g. spillover effects) is, however, essential for enhancing landscape-level resilience to human alterations. We surveyed epixylic (dead wood inhabiting) forest-interior cryptogams (lichens, bryophytes, and fungi) associated with mature old-growth forests in 30 young managed Swedish boreal forest stands bordering a mature forest of high conservation value. In each young stand we registered species occurrences on coarse dead wood in transects 0–50 m from the border between stand types. We quantified the effect of distance from the mature forest on the occurrence of forest-interior species in the young stands, while accounting for local environment and propagule sources. For comparison we also surveyed epixylic open-habitat (associated with open forests) and generalist cryptogams. Species composition of epixylic cryptogams in young stands differed with distance from the mature forest: the frequency of occurrence of forest-interior species decreased with increasing distance whereas it increased for open-habitat species. Generalists were unaffected by distance. Epixylic, boreal forest-interior cryptogams do occur in matrix habitats such as clear-cuts. In addition, they are associated with the matrix edge because of a favourable microclimate closer to the mature forest on southern matrix edges. Retention and creation of dead wood in clear-cuts along the edges to focal habitats is a feasible way to enhance the long-term persistence of epixylic habitat specialists in fragmented landscapes. The proposed management measures should be performed in the whole stand as it matures, since microclimatic edge effects diminish as the matrix habitat matures. We argue that management that aims to increase habitat quality in matrix habitats bordering focal habitats should increase the probability of long-term persistence of habitat specialists.
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| 2. |
- Michanek, Gabriel, 1951-, et al.
(författare)
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Landscape Planning - Paving the Way for Effective Conservation of Forest Biodiversity and a Diverse Forestry?
- 2018
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Ingår i: Forests. - : MDPI. - 1999-4907. ; 9:9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Globally, intensive forestry has led to habitat degradation and fragmentation of the forest landscape. Taking Sweden as an example, this development is contradictory to international commitments, EU obligations, and to the fulfillment of the Parliament’s environmental quality objective “Living Forests[CD1] ”, which according to Naturvårdsverket (The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency) will not be achieved in 2020 as stipulated. One important reason for the implementation deficit is the fragmented forestry management. In a forest landscape, felling and other measures are conducted at different times on separate forest stands (often relatively small units) by different operators. Consequently, the authorities take case by case decisions on felling restrictions for conservation purposes. In contrast, conservation biology research indicates a need for a broad geographical and strategical approach in order to, in good time, select the most appropriate habitats for conservation and to provide for a functioning connectivity between different habitats. In line with the EU Commission, we argue that landscape forestry planning could be a useful instrument to achieve ecological functionality in a large area. Landscape planning may also contribute to the fulfilment of Sweden’s climate and energy policy, by indicating forest areas with insignificant conservation values, where intensive forestry may be performed for biomass production etc. Forest owners should be involved in the planning and would, under certain circumstances, be entitled to compensation. As state resources for providing compensation are scarce, an alternative could be to introduce a tax-fund system within the forestry sector. Such a system may open for voluntary agreements between forest owners for the protection of habitats within a large area.
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| 3. |
- Olsson, Bengt, et al.
(författare)
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A decision support model for individual tree stump harvesting options based on criteria for economic return and environmental protection
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 0282-7581 .- 1651-1891. ; 32, s. 246-259
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Based on principles of multi-criteria analysis techniques, a model (MAPStump-E) for decision support on stump harvesting at stand level was developed. The model applies the concept that each stump can be attributed production values (economic) and environmental values (here soil protection and water quality). Individual tree stump information was incorporated directly from the production reports of harvesters and combined with high-resolution Geographical Information System data on topography and soil type to create a production submodel and a soil and water vulnerability submodel (SWM). To test the model, it was applied to a 45-ha study forest in south-central Sweden and the outcome of nine scenarios with varying bioenergy prices and environmental protection levels was examined. Combined analysis of the effects of production and environmental criteria on total dry mass of harvestable stumps at the study site showed that biomass prices had a stronger influence than environmental criteria. Conflict stumps were defined as stumps suitable for harvest based on production criteria, but unsuitable based on soil and water protection criteria. In a ?medium? price scenario, the proportion of conflict stumps at the study site ranged from 6% to 18%, depending on protection level set.
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| 4. |
- Ranius, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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Conflicting demands and shifts between policy and intra-scientific orientation during conservation research programmes
- 2017
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Ingår i: Ambio. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0044-7447 .- 1654-7209. ; 46:6, s. 621-629
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Conservation scientists must meet the sometimes conflicting demands of policy and science, but not necessarily at the same time. We analysed the policy and intra-scientific orientations of research projects on effects of stump extraction on biodiversity, and found shifts over time associated with these demands. Our results indicate that uncertainties related to both factual issues and human decisions are often ignored in policy-oriented reports and syntheses, which could give misleading indications of the reliability or feasibility of any conclusions. The policy versus intra-scientific orientation of the scientific papers generated from the surveyed projects varied substantially, although we argue that in applied research, societal relevance is generally more important than intra-scientific relevance. To make conservation science more socially relevant, there is a need for giving societal relevance higher priority, paying attention to uncertainties and increasing the awareness of the value of cross-disciplinary research considering human decisions and values.
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| 5. |
- Ranius, Thomas, et al.
(författare)
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The effects of logging residue extraction for energy on ecosystem services and biodiversity : a synthesis
- 2018
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Management. - : Elsevier. - 0301-4797 .- 1095-8630. ; 209, s. 409-425
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- We review the consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem services from the industrial-scale extraction of logging residues (tops, branches and stumps from harvested trees and small-diameter trees from thinnings) in managed forests. Logging residue extraction can replace fossil fuels, and thus contribute to climate change mitigation. The additional biomass and nutrients removed, and soils and other structures disturbed, have several potential environmental impacts. To evaluate potential impacts on ecosystem services and biodiversity we reviewed 279 scientific papers that compared logging residue extraction with non-extraction, the majority of which were conducted in Northern Europe and North America. The weight of available evidence indicates that logging residue extraction can have significant negative effects on biodiversity, especially for species naturally adapted to sun-exposed conditions and the large amounts of dead wood that are created by large-scaled forest disturbances. Slash extraction may also pose risks for future biomass production itself, due to the associated loss of nutrients. For water quality, reindeer herding, mammalian game species, berries, and natural heritage the results were complicated by primarily negative but some positive effects, while for recreation and pest control positive effects were more consistent. Further, there are initial negative effects on carbon storage, but these effects are transient and carbon stocks are mostly restored over decadal time perspectives. We summarize ways of decreasing some of the negative effects of logging residue extraction on specific ecosystem services, by changing the categories of residue extracted, and site or forest type targeted for extraction. However, we found that suggested pathways for minimizing adverse outcomes were often in conflict among the ecosystem services assessed. Compensatory measures for logging residue extraction may also be used (e.g. ash recycling, liming, fertilization), though these may also be associated with adverse environmental impacts.
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| 6. |
- Rudolphi, Jörgen, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Forests regenerating after clear-cutting function as habitat for bryophyte and lichen species of conservation concern.
- 2011
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 6:4, s. 1-9
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The majority of managed forests in Fennoscandia are younger than 70 years old but yet little is known about their potential to host rare and threatened species. In this study, we examined red-listed bryophytes and lichens in 19 young stands originating from clear-cutting (30–70 years old) in the boreal region, finding 19 red-listed species (six bryophytes and 13 lichens). We used adjoining old stands, which most likely never had been clear-cut, as reference. The old stands contained significantly more species, but when taking the amount of biological legacies (i.e., remaining deciduous trees and dead wood) from the previous forest generation into account, bryophyte species number did not differ between old and young stands, and lichen number was even higher in young stands. No dispersal effect could be detected from the old to the young stands. The amount of wetlands in the surroundings was important for bryophytes, as was the area of old forest for both lichens and bryophytes. A cardinal position of young stands to the north of old stands was beneficial to red-listed bryophytes as well as lichens. We conclude that young forest plantations may function as habitat for red-listed species, but that this depends on presence of structures from the previous forest generation, and also on qualities in the surrounding landscape. Nevertheless, at repeated clear-cuttings, a successive decrease in species populations in young production stands is likely, due to increased fragmentation and reduced substrate amounts. Retention of dead wood and deciduous trees might be efficient conservation measures. Although priority needs to be given to preservation of remnant old-growth forests, we argue that young forests rich in biological legacies and located in landscapes with high amounts of old forests may have a conservation value.
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| 7. |
- Rudolphi, Jörgen, 1973-, et al.
(författare)
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Relative importance of thinned and clear-cut stands for bryophyte diversity on stumps.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Forest Ecology and Management. - : Elsevier BV. - 0378-1127 .- 1872-7042. ; 261, s. 1911-1918
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The interest in harvesting logging residues in the form of stumps has recently increased markedly in the Nordic countries of Europe due to the steadily growing market for bio-fuel from forestry. Yet, stumps are currently harvested without a solid knowledge of their importance for forest organisms. To assess the relative importance of thinned, clear-cut, and burned clear-cut stands for the diversity of bryophytes on stumps we investigated bryophyte species composition and richness on 755 spruce stumps in 27 forest stands in southern-boreal Finland. Stumps were sampled within both wet and dry sites. For comparison we also surveyed bryophytes on 669 ground plots in the same stands to assess if patterns were consistent regardless of substrate type. Stand type (i.e. thinned, clear-cut, or burned clear-cut) was the main predictor of both species richness and composition on stumps. Stumps in thinned stands were more species rich than in clear-cuts, and the lowest richness was found on stumps in burned clear-cuts. Differences in species composition were explained by higher frequency of occurrence of species in thinned than in clear-cut stands. Thus, stumps in clear-cut stands tended to host a subset of species from the thinned stands, but there was also a pattern of turnover where different species were present in thinned and clear-cut stands, respectively. The results were similar for bryophytes on ground indicating that canopy cover strongly affected the diversity of bryophytes regardless of substrate. We conclude that stump harvest in open, clear-cut stands will probably have minor effects on bryophyte diversity on dead wood in the managed forest landscape. Conservation efforts in thinned stands (e.g. retention and creation of dead wood) may be important for promoting the diversity of bryophytes in managed forests.
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| 8. |
- Aronsson, Per, et al.
(författare)
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An operational decision support tool for stump harvest
- 2011
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A multi-criteria decision support tool was developed to optimise stump harvesting for energy in Sweden. The decision tool takes account of multiple, sometimes conflicting, criteria relating to stump harvest; energy and climate, economics, biodiversity, and soil and water. Data on harvested stems are used as primary input data in the tool. Such data are routinely collected in harvester computers. The tool effectively deals with mixed sets of data; quantitative harvest data are re-calculated to metric (e.g. stump biomass), and qualitative data (e.g. biodiversity implications) are incorporated. A digital terrain map derived from air-borne laser scanning provides basic data for estimating soil wetness, while digital maps of water courses, key habitats and protected areas, or other sensitive habitats, are used to identify potentially and practically harvestable stumps.In four sub-models, an index from 0 to 10 is calculated for each stump, with 0 representing ‘Not at all suitable’ and 10 ‘Highly suitable for extraction’. Through this, a stump of high value for wood-living species is assigned a low index in the biodiversity sub-model and a large, easily accessible stump is assigned a high index in the economic sub-model. When calculating the net index, the sub-indices can be weighted according to the preferences of the end-user.An energy and climate sub-model incorporates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forest operations and the effect of advancing GHG emissions when stump biomass is incinerated instead of being left to decompose. In the economic sub-model the potential monetary return from each stump is calculated based on estimated revenue from harvested stump biomass and the costs of stump harvesting and forwarding operations (based on cost functions and GIS calculations of transport distances).The biodiversity sub-model considers four types of wood-dependent organisms (lichens, mosses, insects and fungi) in terms of their habitat requirements, vulnerability, sun exposure preferences, locality, etc. A panel of external experts has drawn up a grading scale of stump values for the different taxonomic groups. The proximity to key habitats and exposure to sunlight are derived from a spatial model.Soil and water issues are handled within a sub-model estimating the consequences for long-term soil fertility (nutrient cycling and soil compaction) and water (leaching of plant nutrients and mercury, and particle transport due to soil damage by heavy machinery).The tool offers the end-user possibilities to prioritise and plan for cost-effective stump harvesting, while minimising negative environmental impacts.
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| 9. |
- LarsOlle, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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A multi-criteria decision support model for optimal stump harvesting
- 2012
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A multi-criteria decision support model for optimal stump harvesting Sweden was developed. The model quantifies the effect of harvesting each individual stump over a harvesting object in four criteria's: - Biodiversity (Biodiversity value index) - Economy (SEK) - Greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) - Soil and water (Soil and water preservation index) The four criteria's are sometimes in conflict to each other, and uses values that are not directly comparable. The intended use for this model is to contribute with the objective evaluation of all four criteria's in the decision in what stumps to harvest and what stumps to leave in the harvesting object. The model uses individual stump data (e.g. position, tree species and stump biomass) and harvesting object GIS data (roads, elevation map, soil map, terrain map). Primary data on individual stumps comes from the logging system in the stem harvesters: GPS and operator classification. Such data are routinely collected in harvesters. Official map data for the harvesting object are available from the Swedish mapping, cadastral and land registration authority (Lantmäteriet). This includes the topographic map and elevation maps data in 2 m resolution. Also, GIS data are collected in the inspections before harvesting the stems. The biodiversity sub-model considers different types of wood-dependent organisms (lichens, mosses, insects and fungi) in terms of their habitat requirements, vulnerability, sun exposure preferences, locality, etc. A panel of external experts has drawn up a grading scale of stump values for the different taxonomic groups. The proximity to key habitats and exposure to sunlight are derived from a spatial model. In the economic sub-model the potential net return from each stump is calculated based on estimated revenue from harvested stump biomass and the costs of stump harvesting and transport (based on cost functions and GIS calculations of transport distances). An energy and climate sub-model incorporates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from forest operations and the effect of advancing GHG emissions when stump biomass is incinerated instead of being left to decompose. Soil and water issues are handled within a sub-model estimating the consequences for long-term soil fertility (nutrient cycling and soil compaction) and water (leaching of plant nutrients and mercury, and particle transport due to soil damage by heavy machinery). Each criteria is evaluated in totally four sub-models. To be able to compare the resulting value from each of the criteria, a harvesting index from 0 to 1 is calculated for each stump. The value 0 represents ‘Not at all suitable for harvest’ and 1 ‘Highly suitable for harvest’. Through this, a stump of high biodiversity value is assigned a low harvesting index in the biodiversity sub-model and a large, easily accessible stump is assigned a high harvesting index in the economic sub-model. When calculating the total net index, the harvesting index from each criteria has to be weighed together using one coefficient for each criteria. The weighing coefficient for each criteria is chosen according to the preferences of the decision maker. The tool offers the end-user possibilities to prioritise and plan for cost-effective stump harvesting, while minimising negative environmental impacts.
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| 10. |
- Larsolle, Anders, et al.
(författare)
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Modellbaserat beslutsstöd för stubbskörd [Model based decision support for stump harvest, in Swedish]
- 2017
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In this study a decision support model for tree stump harvest was developed. The model takes into account four criteria: economy, energy and climate, biodiversity, and land and water. The value of each individual tree stump was calculated separately for each criterion. The four criteria values were then weighed together into a final suitability score for stump harvest. The final suitability score decided whether the decision support model recommended harvest of each individual tree stump or not. Data from the harvester collected at final felling was used as input to the decision support model. For each stump the values used in the model was dry mass, stump diameter, tree species and position. In addition, the harvesters log track was used as a basis for localising the terrain roads within the stand. Other geographical data used was elevation data, presence of objects with special value for biodiversity and land/water, such as key biotopes, open water and moist soil. A special study was conducted to estimate the soil stability from a topographical wetness index.The decision support model was evaluated on an existing felling 2010 in Northern Uppland. The area was 45 hectares with about 26 000 stumps. The result of the decision support model showed that general economic parameters had the greatest impact in both sensitivity and scenario analysis. The most important variable was the price for stump biomass at road side. The decision support model results left continuous areas of the stand with all stumps unharvested. The reason for this was the economy criterion's sensitivity to the local amount of stump withdrawal per hectare. Low stump withdrawal gave high harvesting costs. In that economy was the only criterion which motivated stump harvest, the model never suggested harvesting a stump unless surrounding stumps were harvested too.There is potential for developing this decision support model further using updated knowledge and examining the impact of different criteria on the final model result. The decision support model has good opportunities to serve as a comprehensive planning basis in order to ensure sustainable stump harvest.
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